Power Struggle
by TuxedoedCreepersStories
Summary: The Terrorly Guild enters a deadly game when they take a contract involving the eradication of a slave ring. As they fight against an unseen foe, the guild meets new friends, makes new rivals, and faces challenges they never thought possible. And only one question remains: Who will return home safely, and who will never see home ever again.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a quiet day at the HQ for the Terrorly Clan. So inconspicuous, so well placed, everybody that passed it thought it was just a private comms station for some wealthy merchant or politician. No one suspected that some of the deadliest bounty hunters alive lived and trained inside. Not even the Republic.

Inside the communications room, several bounty hunters, all of them deadly and unique, sat around, waiting for something to happen. Sitting towards the door at a workbench, Raaj Mokili Terrorly, the adopted brother of Luna and Zerd Terrorly and de facto technician, was absentmindedly taking apart and putting his blaster together. Mirroring his position was the cunning second in command of the guild, Luna Terrorly. Cycling through bounty reports, she didn't bother hiding her boredom, showing that even she couldn't stand waiting around anymore. In the seat facing the door was one ex-Jedi turned bounty hunter, John Nicnore, AKA Riflesso, thumbing through the same reports, shooting the occasional glance towards Luna. Finally sitting in her trademark spot on the stairs in the back of the room, was "V", a small, quiet mannered woman deadly in both long and short range combat. All four of these hunters had different skill sets, and all of them were trained killers. And just when they thought that things would never brighten up, Luna and John both perked up, looking at their respective lists and shouting, "Found one!"

Raaj and "V" bolted from their spots over to Riflesso to see what he found.

"What've you got John", Raaj asked, hoping for something fun.

Speaking quickly, John replied, "The Republic just put out a mass bounty on a slave ring operating in the Outer Rim. The pay is five-mil for everyone who helps bring it down."

"Since when do we help the Republic", "V" asked skeptically, "and why would we want to anyway? They're nothing but trouble.

John responded to this impatiently, "It's something to do ain't it?"

"Do we at least have a location? The Outer Rim doesn't really tell us much", Raaj cut in.

John looked for a few seconds, then nodded, "Yep, looks like they're operating on Taris".

Raaj grins and looks a "V", "Now this is starting to sound fun"!

"V", still skeptical, asked, "Shouldn't we have heard about this "slave ring" before? It may be in the Outer Rim, but Taris is no small world in the galaxy. This could be a setup".

John replied heatedly, "Come on "V", lighten up for once! I found us a job, and I say we take it"!

Speaking up from the corner, Luna added, "John, "V" does have a point. The fact that we haven't heard about this place screams trap, but for who? Us? Another guild? I'm interested to find out."

Raaj cut in once more, saying, "Well, trap or no, I still want to go. I've never been to Taris, and this is a good excuse for doing so. Besides, if it turns out it's not a trap, we can make some coin there".

"Agreed", Luna said.

John and "V" nodded, "V" doing so a bit resignedly.

And so the group rushed off to different places in the HQ, preparing for their trip. Raaj ran to go prep his ship, Riflesso and Luna to the bunks to grab the rest of their gear, and "V" to the armory to grab her sword. And unknowingly, in deciding to go to Taris, they were entering into a deadly game involving old and new foes, some of which they had never even knew existed before. Oh yes, things were about to get interesting indeed…..


	2. Friendly Locals

Chapter One

Friendly Locals

Taris. A planet teeming with life and commerce, some call it the Coruscant of the Outer Rim. Many called it home, and few remembered that millennium ago, Taris was turned into a smoking rock of debris and death. Rebuilt and prospering, Taris found itself a hub of trade. But with trade comes crime, and Taris had a lot of that too. Now, members of one of the most feared criminal factions in the galaxy were travelling there to take a job, and possibly have some fun on along the way.

The _Black Shadow_ entered the system, exiting hyperspace. Everyone was ready to get off of the ship, and to tour the planet below. They all stood, or in the pilot's case, sat, in the cockpit, viewing the planet in silence.

"Huh, so _this_ is Taris. Smaller than I pictured it", Raaj said, breaking the silence.

Riflesso let out a short bark of laughter, then replied, "_Everything_ is smaller than you pictured it Raaj."

Raaj gave a shrug, then focused on the controls, guiding them towards the planet. The other three passengers on the _Black Shadow_ went to the hold to discuss the game plan. V brought up the contracts info on the round holotable in the middle of the hold, also making a small image of Taris appear in the corner of the info.

"We're three days early", Luna began, "and chances are that we won't be contacted until the set date. I say we lay low until then, get the job done once we get the info, then leave."

"Oh come on Luna, lay low? On Taris? With the dueling ring, swoop circuit, and best of all, Tarisian Ale? No way!" Riflesso exclaimed.

V raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Luna rolled her eyes.

"John, this isn't a pleasure cruise, this is a contract", she began.

"A contract that we won't start until three days from now", Riff countered.

V cut in, saying, "Both of you cut it out. I don't think it matters what we do or not honestly. As long as we complete the contract and get paid, I don't care".

John smiled triumphantly at this, and Luna sighed, shaking her head.

After a moment of silence, Luna finally said, "Fine. Do what you guys want. But when it comes to the contract, we are _not_ going to fool around. Understood?"

Both Riff and V nodded, right as Raaj walked into the hold. He had his blasters in their respective holsters, and was tapping on his wrist pad.

"We'll be landing in about two minutes", he said, "I've sent the landing codes down and they've been approved."

"Good", Luna responded.

Raaj smiled and said jokingly, "Anything to declare?"….

….."I declare that this place sucks", Raaj said.

They had landed on Taris in docking bay E4 an hour ago, and had been touring the streets ever since. Though Riff, Luna, and V were spared due to their more normal appearances and sizes, Raaj had been the target of many nasty insults, many folk telling him he belonged in the Lower City. Almost every local in the streets looked at him with disgust and hate.

Raaj mumbled after another comment was hurled at him, "I swear I'm about to shoot someone. Or maybe just pulverize them with my bare hands."

Riff smiled and responded, "Oh calm down Raaj. In a few days, we'll be outta here."

"I don't see you being told that you're a lumbering piece of alien compost", Raaj countered.

Luna looked over her shoulder at the two of them with a slight grin, then said, "How about we find a place where Raaj can be more at home. They have quite a few good activities here."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Raaj asked, interested.

Riff cut in, "Well, you have the Pazaak dens here. Sabaac never kicked off as much as Pazaak, so that's really the only card game here. Down in the Lower City, you have the swoop circuit, and it happens to be one of the best in the Outer Rim. And then you have the dueling ring, where you go in and fight others with fists, swords, and blasters. Nobody dies though due to some strange series of sensors and whatnot that minimize damage."

Raaj took all of that in and nodded, thinking, "I'll do Pazaak another time. Let's look at the dueling ring."

The four moved through the streets, Raaj now ignoring the insults thrown his way. As they walked, a group of six brutish looking locals eyed the group, watching them move by. The group of locals moved in front of the four bounty hunters, blocking their way. Luna stopped, the others coming to a halt behind her, sizing up the new threat. The leader of the thugs looked past everyone, leering at Raaj.

Thug One: "Who let this filth leave the Lower City?"

Thug Two: "No idea Korvak, but I say we send him back down there. In pieces."

Raaj slowly pushed past his friends, moving in front of Luna and standing toe-to-toe with the thug called Korvak, towering over him by more than a foot. Korvak however, wasn't cowed, believing his superior numbers would grant him a swift victory in the brawl that was sure to come.

Korvak said with a smirk, "Well look boys, the trash thinks he can stand on the same ground as me. I say we teach him a lesson."

The rest of the thugs nodded and smiled sinisterly. Raaj threw a warning glance over his shoulder towards the three behind him. All three smiled, nodded, and took a few steps back. Raaj then turned back to Korvak, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers. He then took a single step back and raised his hands into a ready position. Korvak and his thugs surrounded Raaj. One of the thugs lunged, and Raaj spun and slammed his fist into his stomach. He then picked the thug up and threw him at two of the other thugs, sending all three to the ground. Raaj then spun and kicked another approaching thug hard in the torso, rupturing his spleen. He then brought his elbow down on the man's head, knocking him out cold. Raaj turned back toward Korvak, who was backed by one more thug. The thug rushed forward, and was rewarded for his effort by taking a snap kick to the groin. Stepping over the whimpering man towards Korvak, he paused three feet away from him and crossed his arms.

"Ready to back off, or do I need to stomp you into the ground?" Raaj said calmly.

Korvak growled, then countered, "I'm going to kill you myself you alien piece of trash!".

Korvak rushed forward and slammed his fist into Raaj's chest, then stepping back, shocked that the blow didn't seem to do anything. While he was distracted, Raaj stepped forward and rammed his knee into the Korvak's stomach, then delivered an uppercut to his jaw. As Korvak began to stagger back, Raaj stepped towards him again and delivered two rocking blows to the man's torso, sending Korvak to the ground. He then turned and walked back towards Riff, Luna, and V, all of whom had smiles on their faces.

"You done already?" Riff asked, putting away a small camera that he had recorded the fight with.

"Indeed I am", Raaj responded, "Let's go check out that dueling ring".

And with that, the group continued on their way, leaving behind six highly injured street thugs on the ground. They would never learn this, but Korvak and his gang would never again insult another alien species. The group headed for the location of the dueling ring in high spirits, wondering what other surprises would be in store for them.


	3. Welcome to the Games

Chapter Two

Welcome to the Game

The group of four entered the cantina, all in high spirits. As they walked into the main room, they noticed that it was really just a circular sitting room with the support in the middle, making the room like a ring. As they walked through the room, they saw that there were three different rooms that broke off. The first was the actual bar. The second was the gambling den. And the third was the entrance to the dueling ring. This was what first caught Raaj's attention.

"I think I wanna go see just how good the duelers are here on Taris," he said.

John grinned, then answered, "Don't you think that it would be a bit of an unfair fight?"

Raaj shrugged, and then walked into the room. Several duelers were standing around, along with a few fans. As he walked by, two of the duelers looked at him with interest. Lined up with the entrance at the back of the room, a Hutt was watching him approach. Raaj approached him with a smile.

"I assume you run the dueling ring here?" he started.

The Hutt looked him over, then replied in Huttese, "Yes, I do. And who are you?"

Raaj smiled and countered, "Your name first."

"My name is Moaa. Now, tell me your name before I have you thrown out."

Raaj responded by saying, "Let's just say my middle name okay? Mokili."

"I see "Mokili," Moaa said, "What can I do for you?"

"I want to enter the dueling ring," Raaj told the Hutt, "and I'd like to do it now."

"I see…." Moaa responded, looking interested.

As Raaj talked the details out with Moaa the Hutt, Riff turned their other two companions and suggested they check out the gambling den. They agreed, and left Raaj to his decision. When the entered the gambling den, the observed several things. For one, the dominant game in the room seemed to be, for some odd reason, Pazaak. An ancient card game from the Old Republic era, the game seemed to have kept its popularity on Taris. Towards the back of the room, three Sabaac tables were tucked into booths. In the back right corner of the room was a small drink fountain and credit machine. John looked from the Sabaac tables to the Pazaak, and tried to decide what to play. He was then approached by a stunning Corellian woman who asked him to play a few hands of Pazaak. Shooting an apologetic glance at Luna, he accepted and followed the woman to a table. Luna looked at V, shrugged, then walked over to a Pazaak table. It was then that Raaj walked in, saw them, and came over, grabbing an empty chair and setting it next to their table and sitting backwards in it/

"I've got my first match in thirty minutes," he stated, "and I even have a nickname."

Luna responded with a snigger, saying, "What is it? The Lumbering Oaf?"

"Ha ha Luna, very funny," Raaj said sarcastically, "but no. He gave me the nickname Iron Giant."

V actually chuckled at this, but didn't say anything. The table raised two decks up, one for each of the girls. Each taking their respective decks, they began to play, both winning several hands. After a few sets, Raaj began to look interested in the game. Then he looked around and noticed something.

"Where exactly, is John?" he asked.

V smirked, then nodded her head over to his table, "He got invited by a pretty lady to play cards. To be honest, he didn't look too happy about it."

"Uh huh. Well, I need to go back and get ready for my fight. Going up against some guy called the "Masked Man". Should be interesting," Raaj said, glancing down at his wrist-pad to check the time.

Luna and V both stood up, indicating that they'd go with him. Luna then turned towards where Riff was still playing cards with the Corellian woman.

"John, let's go," she said, "we're going to go watch Raaj's fight."

"Coming!" Riff said quickly, looking relieved.

He stood up, walking over to them. The Corellian coolly stood up and followed them out without them noticing, eyeing Raaj. The group walked back to the entrance to the dueling ring, Raaj disappearing through a side door. The rest of the group walked over to another door, walking through it to find themselves in the stands for the dueling ring. They took their seats, waiting for the match to begin. Luna turned towards Riff and began interrogating him about what happened with the Corellian woman. V rolled her eyes and just watched the entrances to the arena. After a few minutes, doors at both ends opened, Raaj coming out of one, a familiar looking masked man out of the other.

As Raaj walked in, he sized up his opponent, who looked like someone he knew. After studying him for a few minutes, he recognized him and smiled, dropping his sword and blasters on the ground. The man across the arena drew a vibroblade, waiting for the match to begin. The announcer said the stage names of the two duelers, then declared the beginning to the match. Raaj stayed where he was as the other duelist charged him with his vibroblade raised. When the man reached him, he brought the weapon down towards Raaj's shoulder. Raaj nimbly stepped out of the way and drove his knee into the man's side, doubling him over. Raaj then knocked the vibroblade out of the man's hands and stepped forward, putting him into a headlock. Before delivering his punch, he muttered one thing into the man's ear.

"Hello Retch," he said. Raaj then gave a single punch to the side of Retch's head, knocking him out….

"I still can't believe you knocked me out with one punch," Retch said grumbling, rubbing the knot on his head.

The group was walking out of the dueling chambers, Raaj having collected his money. The four of them had already told Retch about the contract they were accepting, and were now planning to go back towards the gambling den. When they got there, the same woman who had challenged Riff came up to Raaj, and asked him to play a few sets with him. Looking surprised, he accepted. The other four went to a Sabaac table. After about an hour of gambling and trading stories, Raaj came over with a sum of seven thousand credits, a name and contact information for the Corellian woman, who was called Morella Blai, and a bemused expression on his face. His friends would tease him about the incident for the next few hours, even as they left the cantina and went to look for a place to stay.

As they walked the streets however, the same woman that had played Raaj and Riff in cards began to follow them. What neither knew however, was that the woman who followed them was not just a mere flirt. Her name was not Morella Blai. And she was only Corellian for this mission. In actuality, this woman was Major Ansa Roshim, Republic Intelligence agent and spy. Investigating the same slave ring that the Terrorlys have been paid to take down, she recognized both Raaj and Riff as wanted men. After following them long enough to know where they were staying, Roshim headed back to her own place. Later that night, a message would be sent to Rudarius Platoon's headquarters, confirming the presence of the Terrorly guild on Taris. Roshim's operator responded with a single coded phrase: "Let the games…begin."


	4. Snakes Tongue

_Previously…_

_As they walked the streets however, the same woman that had played Raaj and Riff in cards began to follow them. What neither knew however, was that the woman who followed them was not just a mere flirt. Her name was not Morella Blai. And she was only Corellian for this mission. In actuality, this woman was Major Ansa Roshim, Republic Intelligence agent and spy. Investigating the same slave ring that the Terrorlys have been paid to take down, she recognized both Raaj and Riff as wanted men. After following them long enough to know where they were staying, Roshim headed back to her own place. Later that night, a message would be sent to Rudarius Platoon's headquarters, confirming the presence of the Terrorly guild on Taris. Roshim's operator responded with a single coded phrase: "Let the games…begin."_

Chapter Three

Snakes Tongue

The group of five was currently sitting in various places around their room. They were staying in an unnamed motel, in the heart of the city. All of them were picking at various foods, all of which had been bought by Luna. Riff was on the sofa eating his horrible chips, Luna, V, and Retch were all having balanced meals, and Raaj, ever the health junky, was having mainly fruit. None of them had talked much, mainly because they were all thinking about how the day was going to play out. They still had at least two days before the contractor contacted them again, and they were all trying to think of ways to spend that time. The silence was finally broken by Riff.

"I want to go check out the swoop circuit," he exclaimed. "From what I've heard, it's one of the most fun things to do here."

Raaj let out a bark of laughter and replied, "And watch you get steamrolled like you did on Tatooine? No thank you."

The others, excluding Riff, burst out laughing. Riff glared at all of them, and then grumbled, "It's better than sitting around doing nothing."

Retch was the first to reel in his laughter, replying with, "We could always go back to the cantina. You seemed to have fun there."

"Look, I'm going to check it out either way, and I don't really care if any of you go with me," Riff said with finality.

"Okay, okay calm down John. We're just teasing you," Raaj said soothingly. He then grinned devilishly and said, "Though, I may join in to show you who the real swoop racer here is. Again."

The rest of the group chuckled at this comment, then began to clean up their meals. As the group moved to put their utensils and plates away, Riff grabbed his jacket and blaster, his lightsaber already on his belt. As the others grabbed their few materials, Riff stormed out the door, still upset about the others' comments. As the rest of the group followed him out of the door, Raaj slid his blaster into the shoulder holster he commonly wore, tugging on his jacket to cover it. The five bounty hunters walked through the streets to the nearest lift to take them to the Lower City, and rode it down deeper into the heart of Taris…

The group stepped off of the lift into the streets of the Lower City. The group looked around, noting the slightly dingy look that the area had. Though still in good condition, the Lower City was undeniably not on the same level of importance as the Upper City. The group toured around the area for a while, asking passerby about the swoop circuit. They got directions to an area that local sponsors could typically be found in, and went to investigate. When they arrived they saw about eight different people, of different species and gender, yelling to passerby and holding up flyers. The different people all had on different colored outfits, and all seemed to look at each other with extreme dislike. These were the sponsors of all of the different swoop gangs in the area. And one of them had noticed Riflesso.

"Hey you! Yeah you in the leather coat! Come here, I've got an offer for ya!" the sponsor, a light green skinned Rodian yelled towards him. The Rodian wore a black outfit, with a detailed yellow snake stenciled on the back.

"Oh really? And what offer would that be sir?" Riff replied with a slight smile.

As Riflesso talked with the Rodian, a human female approached Raaj, wearing a beige jumpsuit with a yellow trim. He nodded to his friends, then smiled politely to the woman and listened to what she had to say. The other three members of their party stood awkwardly in place as Riff and Raaj talked with the sponsors that had approached them. Riff returned first, a big grin on his face.

"I just got recruited to race for the Tunnel Snakes, one of the top swoop gangs around," he stated smugly. "Not only that, but they want me to race in the qualifying round of the Taris Circuit. He said he recognized me from my runs on Malastare and Tatooine."

Shortly after he finished speaking, Raaj walked back over to the group, a slight smile on his face.

"I just got asked to race by the Hidden Beks. The woman said she's seen me before on the HoloNet at the Tatooine, Manaan, Mandolore, and Coruscant Circuits, and she wants me to race in the qualifier for the Taris Circuit."

The others, including Riff, stood there stunned by this. Even if you are new to Taris, you know who the Beks are. One of the original gangs of Taris, dating back to the Old Republic era, the Hidden Beks were a big part in the rebuilding of Taris. They were heroes to the locals, and legends to the rest of the galaxy. And they were also known for being one of the best swoop racing gangs in the galaxy. Finally, Riff regained his ability to speak, and when he did, he did so venomously.

"Oh really? And why should I believe that? I bet you just came up with that story to show me up didn't you!" he shouted.

Raaj looked surprise, and rather hurt, at the way Riflesso was responding. He then regained his composure and replied calmly, "Well, you'll be happy to know that I declined. You're the one who wanted to race not me. And I don't have my swoop bike with me anyway."

Riff stood there for a minute staring at Raaj, his face slowly reddening from embarrassment. He then apologized. Raaj waved it off with a grin, then said, "You've certainly got enough venom in your words to be a Tunnel Snake."

The other three members of their party chuckled at this, then turned towards Riff. He stood there for another minute, then walked back over towards the Rodian to accept his offer. After talking to him for a few minutes, he turned towards his friends and jerked his head down the street, then began following the Rodian. The others looked at each other and shrugged and followed suit.

As the group walked away, several people in different nearby areas began to move. Two of these were men wearing orange armor and helmets, the visor of which was tinted a strange green color. Across the walkway, one of the sponsors, who was really a Terrorly mercenary known as T'zek recognized the group, and moved away to avoid detection. And finally, in a spot that would be passed within a few minutes, was Ansa Roshim, whose new orders were to tail the group of bounty hunters and learn about their whereabouts on Taris. But unknown to any of these pawns, there was a lone man watching V and Luna both with a hunger his eyes. This man was Ofik Calhoun, and Terrorly party would soon be making his acquaintance...


	5. Falling Between the Cracks

Chapter Four

Falling Between the Cracks

If one were to walk through the streets of the Lower City, they would see that they were unusually empty. However, the closer you got to the public swoop track, the more you began to notice the steady roar of a crowd. Arriving at the track, the immense amount of people became instantly noticeable, everyone yelling praise and insults, cheering and booing the racers on the track. Among this crowd, four bounty hunters stood at the rail keeping others from falling the short way onto the track, watching the racers complete their heats one by one. Three of them, two women and one man, stood leaning against the railing. The last, a man that dwarfed the other three, sat on a thicker section of the railing with one leg running along it and the other closer to his chest. The three standing at the railing watched the racers with interest. The man sitting on the railing however kept looking at the areas around the track, keeping an eye out for trouble.

"When is he gonna get out here?" Retch asked for the sixth time.

Lune exchanged a look with V before responding, "He'll be out here when they let him come out here. Have some patience."

"Well I'm bored waiting! We've been standing here for forever!" Retch responded heatedly.

"We've only been here for thirty minutes," Raaj said, speaking for the first time since they had arrived.

Retch glared at him while V snickered and Luna stifled a laugh. Raaj, who had not even looked back when he spoke, didn't have any visible reaction. Continuing to scan the crowd and the area around the track, Raaj fell silent once more. Meanwhile, the next racer was announced, the name making all four of the bounty hunters look towards the start of the track. Riflesso, wearing the racing outfit for the Tunnel Snakes, was walking onto the track while his swoop bike was pulled on. The crowd cheered and booed, Riff appearing to ignore it. As he entered his swoop bike, another Tunnel Snake moved up to him and exchanged a few words with him before walking away. Riff got set into his bike and waited for the start signal.

"Here we go," Raaj muttered.

The warning signal was given down on the track. The rev of Riff's swoop could faintly be heard over the roar of the crowd. Finally, the start signal was given, and Riff exploded away from the starting line, speeding down the track. Raaj kept a sharp eye on the track, just in case anybody got a funny idea. He suddenly tensed up and spoke loud enough for the others to hear, "We've got trouble". At that moment, three other swoops had flown onto the track from random locations, all directly behind Riflesso's bike. Two of them zoomed up, one swerving in front of him, the other coming up to his right. The three swoop bikes boxed Riff in towards the left, almost grinding him into the left rail. Unable to do anything, his four friends were forced to watch as Riff tried to keep from wrecking his bike. Suddenly the bike on his right swerved and slammed into him, knocking him to the left. However, there was no rail here. The rail in this area had been sheared off by a plasma torch earlier, though no one had noticed. And so, instead of his bike slamming into the rail, Riff flew off of the track. The three swoops continued forward, going straight through the finish line and the garage, which was already open. As the garage doors closed, the crowd all started screaming, some in fear, others in pure shock. The four bounty hunters however were already gone, though no one had noticed…..

"I should have paid more attention! God dammit!" Raaj was screaming, mainly to himself. The group was running through the streets of the Lower City, attempting to find a turbolift down into the Undercity.

"There was nothing you could have done Raaj," Luna tried to say, "We were too far away to do anything."

Raaj didn't respond, continuing to sprint through the streets, almost leaving his friends behind. Finally spotting a lift, Raaj veered sharply to the left and put on a burst of speed, this time actually leaving the other three far behind him. Running into the lift, he turned and held the door impatiently, waiting for the others to catch up. As they got in, Luna glared at him. Ignoring the look, Raaj let the doors close and hit a button, sending the lift down towards the Undercity. The lift sped down towards the surface of the planet, Raaj impatiently banging his fist on the doors.

"Raaj, you need to calm down. We're just as worried as you, but we need to have a plan," Luna said, trying once again to calm him down.

"Oh yeah? And what plan would that be Luna?" Raaj asked fiercely, "We don't know where he is down here, and we don't know what kind of opposition we'll be facing. So how exactly do we make a plan?"

Luna, along with V and Retch, stood in silence, none of them having an answer. The door let out a ping before opening, revealing a dimly lit, pathetic looking area. The four stepped out and immediately realized that they were in a settlement of sorts, walled in from the rest of the area. Several people were walking around, a few looking in their direction but none of them coming over. As the group moved through the area, they spotted a gate that several people were gathered at. As the approached it, it became obvious that they were discussing something.

"I'm telling you, we need to go investigate," one of the people said, "Someone may need our help!"

"If we go out there, we'll get attacked by the Rakghouls!" a second said.

"QUIET!" Raaj roared, startling them into silence. "Tell me what you know. NOW!"

After glancing at some of the others, one of them responded, "Well, a swoop bike crashed about five klicks to the west. We'd go investigate but…"

Raaj, impatient for answers demanded, "But what? Why haven't you gone out there?"

"The Rakghouls," one of the others whispered fearfully, almost too quiet to be heard. "They're mutated humans that have been turned into these…things. We don't know where they came from, but they've been here for as long as I can remember. The elders say they've been here longer than we have."

Raaj looked at his four companions, and they all shared a brief look. He then looked at the man next to the gate control and said, "Open it."

The man looked at him in shock. Replying, he said, "But you'll be killed! The Rakghouls will slaughter you!"

Raaj gave him a hard look before saying, "You don't know them, and you sure as hell don't know me. Open the gate."

The man stared at him for another few moments, then nodded slowly. He turned towards the gate control and activated it. The gate creaked open, the ancient gears grinding slowly. Without saying another word, Raaj walked out of the gate, the other four following close behind him. As they walked a bit further, the gate began to close behind them. They didn't care. Beginning to walk west, Luna drew her pistols, V drew her sword, and Retch drew his sidearm. Raaj remained unarmed, leaving his blaster in its holster. Continuing to walk, they heard strange, alien sounding screeches. It didn't faze them. As they walked west, towards where Riff supposedly crashed, the people back behind the gate watched the group of four fade into the gloom, wondering why a group so small would do something so risky…


End file.
